Sticks and Stones
by Broseidon Lord of the Suh
Summary: Ladybug says something she can't take back, pushing Chat away. He won't talk to Ladybug anymore, but Marinette? That's a different story.


Ladybug hit the ground hard and rolled, trying to regain her footing on the torn up street. Hawkmoth had really stepped up his game with the latest akuma, and the collateral damage was widespread. She hoped her reset would be able to handle something of this scale. A construction worker, apparently dissatisfied with his long hours, was the latest victim, and he wasn't choosy about what he used his jackhammer on, up to and including polka dotted superheroes, judging by the glare he was giving her. She readied herself to get out of the way, but felt something hit her in the side before she could move. Two things registered quickly in her mind. One, that the jackhammer hadn't hit her, and two, Chat was yowling in pain. There was a spray of blood in the air as they fell, and then Chat Noir was dead weight on top of her. After laying Chat down somewhere relatively safe, she sprung to her feet and turned to face Destructor, spinning her yoyo threateningly.

"I'm going to make you regret ever hearing 'Hawkmoth's' name."

Destructor had the nerve to laugh in her face. "Come try, little bug."

"Lucky charm!" she called, then stared as a bungee cord fell into her hands.

 _At least it's more straightforward than usual..._ she thought to herself. She dove toward the villain, who raised his weapon in preparation for an easy strike. At the last second, Ladybug rolled around him, and wrapped the bungee cord around his ankles. As he fell, she grabbed the security badge from his vest and snapped it in half, releasing the akuma.

"You've done _more_ than enough harm, little akuma." she muttered as she purified and released it. Tossing the bungee cord into the air, she called "Miraculous Ladybug!" and prayed that saving Chat wasn't outside the scope of her powers. Turning to where she had set him, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him stumbling to his feet. He looked injured, but far better off than he had been.

"My lady! Is it over?"

"That was stupid and reckless, Chat."

"My la-"

"No, save it. You almost got yourself killed trying to save me, that's not okay."

"I did save you, that's what matters. It all worked out in the end."

"What if it didn't? What if I lost, and couldn't return you to life?"

"But you did."

"I had it handled! I can handle myself without you!"

Chat's ears flattened against his head and his shoulders slumped.

"I see. I won't bother you again." he said over his shoulder as he turned and ran off.

Ladybug tried desperately to reach out and stop him, but was frozen in place, caught in a mixture of shock and residual anger. "Chat I…" she said weakly, but he was already gone.

"What have I done?"

In the days following, Marinette spent as much time as she could afford to as Ladybug, pushing Tikki and herself to the limits. Every time she went out on patrol, she hoped for a glimpse of Chat Noir, but found nothing. He wasn't answering her calls, and after weeks, she resigned herself to the fact that the partnership had become a solo act. She kept up as well as she could on her own, but the city was feeling Chat's absence. News articles flew fast and furious questioning where he had gone, and whether Ladybug was to blame. The akuma attacks were blessedly few and far between, and she was able to handle them alone. Even so, they took their toll. Marinette wasn't sleeping much, and what sleep she did get was fitful and wracked with bad dreams. Tikki was exhausted too, although she tried to hide it for Marinette's sake. It was evident that neither of them could keep it up for much longer.

Alya kept her distance at first, figuring Marinette just needed some space to deal with whatever was bothering her, but eventually it became apparent that something needed to be done. That day she cornered Marinette in the lunchroom. Or, a zombie that looked like Marinette, possibly.

"Alright girl, spill it."

Marinette looked up slowly, as if even shifting her gaze was an exertion. "Spill what?"

"You aren't speaking, barely eating, you look like you haven't slept in weeks, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

Alya huffed and planted a hand on her hip. "Do I look stupid? You can tell me, or I can follow you until I find out for myself. Your choice."

Marinette's eyes hardened into a glare her friend had never seen before. "Drop it Alya."

Alya, speechless for the first time in her life, took a step back and a moment to recover.

"Fine, have it your way. But whatever this is, you're going to do something you might not be able to recover from if it keeps up. If you decide you want to talk, you know how to reach me."

Marinette nodded absentmindedly, then kept walking, all the way to the back of the cafeteria. When she decided to eat, she did so alone now, except for Tikki in her bag. She slipped a muffin to the kwami as she nibbled idly on a pastry. _There has to be some way I can reach him…_ "If only I knew who he was…" she murmured, thinking herself alone. Then she heard footsteps moving quickly away, but they were lost in the lunch crowd before she managed to turn around. _I guess they wouldn't know who I was talking about anyway._

Adrien did his best to lose himself from her sight before she could look. _She had to be talking about Chat...how many other guys with a secret identity could she know? Maybe I can do something to help her as Chat Noir._ He resolved to pay her a visit as soon as he could get an evening free. He hated seeing her like this, but there was no way he could reach out without his mask. Even with the mask, he wasn't sure how much he could do, but it had to be better than nothing.

That night, Marinette lay on her bed, debating whether to go on patrol. One look over at Tikki, barely able to move, made the decision for her. She stared up at the ceiling, wondering how she was going to keep her heroism act alive and well with it draining her this much. She rolled on her side, about to drift off to 'sleep' when a loud _WHUMP_ came from the roof. Figuring she should investigate, Marinette pulled on a robe and climbed up to the roof.

"Must be one hell of a pi-"

Then she saw him. Standing there twirling his tail like he hadn't been AWOL for weeks.

"I heard you were looking for a certain Chat in shining armor. Well look no further purr-incess, I'm here."

Marinette didn't think, she just punched. Although in her current state, it may as well have been a light breeze for all it did.

"Where. Have. You. Been?" she hissed at him.

"Miss me that much?" he grinned down at her.

"Ladybug has been running herself ragged keeping all of Paris safe on her own and you've been...where? On vacation? And just what the _hell_ are you doing here?"

Chat stared at the ground. "Ladybug doesn't want me around. I came here because I thought you wanted to see me. Guess not…"

Marinette's eyes blurred with tears as he turned to leave. _Not again. Don't let him leave again. Do SOMETHING!_

"Chat, wait!"

She reached out to grab his shoulder and felt him stiffen under her touch.

"I...I did want to see you, I'm sorry. Please don't go."

"If my Princess wants me here, then that's where I'll be."

"Have a seat." She motioned to a small couch nearby. "I'll grab a blanket."

Marinette reappeared a minute later, and sat down next to him wordlessly, wrapping them both in a large pink blanket as she did. For how long they sat in silence, neither could say. Chat fidgeted anxiously, not sure how to deal with the quiet.

"So...you did want to see me?"

Marinette exhaled loudly. "Yeah, I guess I did. Not sure why though."

"Harsh."

"So is abandoning Paris. What the hell is wrong with you, Chat? You have a responsibility to the city, to the people in it, to Ladybug!"

Chat recoiled at the name of his partner. "I already told you, she doesn-"

"You're delusional if you actually believe that."

He sighed. "Maybe so. But I don't think she would take me back if I tried to join her again."

 _Of course I would you stupid cat! Why are you so stupid? How are you so blind?_

Marinette stared at the ground. "Take you back? What do you mean?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Did you get in a fight?"

"Sort of. I think. I'm not sure."

"You're...not sure? Either you got in a fight or you didn't."

Chat turned to face her, eyes narrowed. "She yelled at me," _No I didn't._ "and told me to leave," _No I didn't!_ "so I did, end of story." _It's only the end because you won't answer my calls._ "I don't want to talk about it any more."

"Ladybug seems like a sensible girl, I'm sure you had it coming if she yelled at you."

"I've always been a burden on her, I'm surprised it took as long as it did."

 _Shut up, shut up, shut up!_

"Marinette?"

 _That was totally out loud._

"You and Ladybug would be good friends, you know that? You seem to be of one mind."

 _You don't know the half of it._

"No, Chat-"

"Forget it, I'm leaving."

"NO!" Moving before she had a chance to talk herself out of it, Marinette grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a kiss.

Adrien had no experience with kissing, but he was fairly certain this wasn't how it was supposed to be done. It felt...angry? Definitely angry. But if it was so wrong, why was he groaning into her lips, pulling her closer, purring, low and deep in the back of his throat? Then just as quickly as it started, it was over. They both pulled away, breathless and red-faced.

"That was...something." Chat said between breaths.

"Mhm…" Marinette stared up at him, forehead scrunched as if she was thinking.

"Something on your mind Princess?" _Yes, that was good. Flirt again, regain control of the situation._

"Trying to decide if I want to do that again."

 _Aaaand, there it goes._

"Well I, uh, I certainly wouldn't mind." _Real smooth._

"I know _you_ wouldn't."

*BEEP*

Chat glanced down and saw the paw pads on his ring beginning their countdown. "Looks like time made the decision for you tonight, Princess. Maybe I'll stop by another night."

Marinette raised an eyebrow as he stood to leave. "Like you could stay away. I'll be waiting, kitty."

Without another word, he vaulted off the balcony and ran off into the night. On his way home, he replayed the events of the night in his head. This was definitely a different Marinette than he had seen before. Sure he had seen her irritated, after some stupid thing Chloe had done, but this angry side of her was new. It was scary. It was forceful. It was...exciting.


End file.
